Travel guide: Sapa, Vietnam

A trekking in Sapa is a once in a lifetime experience, especially when you combine it with a homestay (sleeping at a local family). Hours of walking through the jungle and (muddy) ricefields when it is over 20 degrees celsius… does that sound like a good idea?

I planned my trekking through my hostel in Hanoi. After spending one afternoon and night in a hostel in Sapa (Mountain View Hostel- from the Vietnam Backpackers chain), it was time for my trekking. I met my guide and a Dutch guy that was doing the trekking with us. The first day we walked for about 4 hours, it was about 12 km. On our trek we were joined by women of the Black Hmong tribe. I found the trekking very hard. Late afternoon we arrived at our homestay. We were able to take a shower (they actually had a ‘normal’ shower and toilet), and relax. Then it was time to eat; the men and women ate seperately, but because the guide and the Dutch guy where the only ones I could talk to (nobody of the family spoke English), I could eat with the men. And it was hilarious, because they drank a lot of ricewine.

The next day we walked for about 2 to 3 hours, during our walk we stopped at a local middle school. This time we were joined by woman of the Red Dzao tribe. At noon a van took a back to ‘Sapa city’ where I took an evening bus to Hanoi.

I have to admit; I am not that active or outdoorsy, so this was totally out of my comfort zone. I did not prepare for this trekking nor did I had any idea of what to expect. But I wanted to do this trekking and i am so proud i did. Although during the trekking I might have used a variety of cursewords, it was an amazing experience!